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16 Epic WCW Photos That’ll Make You Wish They Won The Monday Night Wars

The history of WCW still provides great memories for the fans that witnessed the best work of the only other wrestling promotion to go mainstream other than WWE. WCW’s biggest success came in 1996-1998 when they overtook WWE for over a year. It didn’t last with poor decisions and reckless spending putting them in the negative by 1999. Every decision continued to sink them lower until they were sold to Vince McMahon. The legacy of WCW still lives with most of the library on the WWE Network with Nitro and PPVs all being easily accessible.

We'll look at some of the coolest pictures snapped of wrestlers in WCW. These images range from in-ring action to iconic moments to behind the scenes fun. All the pictures tell a story about how cool WCW was for the industry. Even for all the struggles, it was tremendous to have another promotion trying to compete with WWE on the major level. Some fans wish WCW won the Monday Night War believing it would have led to a better wrestling industry today. These images will make you miss WCW and contemplate that theory. Let’s look at fifteen epic WCW photos that may have you wishing they defeated WWE.

16 Stacy & Torrie

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WCW was bleeding terribly as of 1999, they couldn't compete with the WWE in just about every aspect, however, they did have a couple of females that had proven drawing power. Keibler was one of them, she earned a spot during a Nitro Girls competition, not only did she take home the grand prize but her dance routine was a massive hit earning a 4.4 million rating, something that wasn't the norm for the company at that point.

15 Unbelievable Roster

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The WCW roster was the most impressive aspect about the company. While most of the storylines lacked long term success, the wrestlers on the show delivered something for all fans. WCW hired most of the top WWE stars from the 80s like Roddy Piper and Ultimate Warrior. Fans of the time still had fondness for these wrestlers they grew up with.

14 Hulk Hogan's Parade Signing

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WCW wasn’t afraid to make bold moves regarding the talent. They tried to often showcase their major moves like sports with press conferences playing up the important of the acquisitions. One signing saw them take it to the next level with a ticker tape parade. Much like the parades that sports teams get in their cities after winning a championship, Hulk Hogan received one for signing with WCW.

13 Spring Break

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One problem with WWE today is how much they stick to their routine. Even when they have good shows or cool surprises, it doesn’t stray too far away from the usual mundane system they have set up. WCW often took chances on unique ideas with various shows outdoors. A memorable annual show featured WCW having Nitro take place at a beach during Spring Break.

12 Great Wrestling Moments

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WCW delivered some of the greatest wrestling moments when it came to the surprises. They also had some of the best wrestlers in the world in their Cruiserweight division. Despite not getting the big break, the young wrestlers at the time worked extremely hard to leave their legacy in WCW history. Dean Maleno and Chris Jericho proved this with their amazing feud back in 1998.

11 Nature Boy

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Ric Flair is likely the most popular choice when discussing the greatest WCW star of all time. The early 90s saw Flair carry the company until Hulk Hogan came in and replaced him as the face of the promotion. Flair remained with WCW until the dying days, but the company rarely pushed him during the Monday Night Wars due to clashing with Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo when each man respectively ran the company.

10 War Games

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War Games was one of the most memorable concepts created in WCW. The team match featuring members coming into the two cages one at a time helped give a perfect payoff to multiple feuds in one major bout. Fans loved the annual match as it often left a positive impact each time until the final few years when things spiraled out of control.

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9 Feel Good Moments

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WCW liked to present their moments of face wrestlers winning the title as a huge deal. Lex Luger, Sting, Goldberg and others showed that in the later years when each man defeated the hated Hulk Hogan character. However, this went on for many years going back to the early 90s with one specific title change.

8 Intense Feuds

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WCW did a good job of creating personal feuds with intensity and a reality aspect to it. This showed when Diamond Dallas Page received the push of a lifetime. Page started to gain popularity during the peak of the Monday Night Wars. Randy Savage became his first top level feud and the two made magic together in the ring.

7 Monday Night Jericho

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The biggest criticism of WCW looking back was how they failed to utilize many future stars. WCW relied on the veterans and wrestlers past their prime to have all the top spots. Chris Jericho was one of the wrestlers ready to break out into the main event scene. The heel work of Jericho in 1998 made him arguably the most entertaining act in the company as the main event picture started to grow stale.

6 Four Horsemen

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The Four Horsemen was arguably the greatest faction in wrestling history. It was the first faction to show just how important a group could be together. Ric Flair stepped up as the leader of the group and a legitimate main event star. Arn Anderson would get established as a legend through the various combinations the group had. Tully Blanchard and Ole Anderson are remembered as the next best members along with manager J.J. Dillon as seen in this photo.

5 Too Sweet

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WWE’s narrative in documentaries breaking down the Monday Night Wars will try to convince you that the Wolfpac faction to break away from the New World Order was a failure. However, it was the hottest thing in WCW for a few months. Kevin Nash was highly entertaining in the role as the face leader. Lex Luger and Sting joined to put them over the top as a beloved group.

4 Going Hollywood

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The success of WCW in the Monday Night Wars came when Hulk Hogan made the shocking decision to turn heel. You must give WCW credit for even pitching that the biggest face in wrestling history to that point completely change his character. The New World Order was formed with “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan being born. Hogan tapped into his egotistical side to brag about everything he accomplished in wrestling.

3 Scott Steiner And An Actual Tiger

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WCW spending too much money hurt them in the long run, but it definitely added to some cool moments. As a wrestling fan, all we really need to worry about is enjoying the program. The wrestlers loved pitching extravagant ideas knowing the company would approve most things. Eric Bischoff made the decisions and essentially had an open checkbook from Ted Turner for many years.

2 Classic Matches

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The young talent in WCW always tried their best to have the best matches on the card. Looking back today, the Cruiserweight division often the stole the show with their matches still standing the test of time. The best example of this came at Halloween Havoc 1997. Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper had the main event, but people only talk about the Title versus Mask match between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero from that show.

1 Da Man

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Goldberg was one of the biggest stars in WCW, especially when looking at new talent to debut during the Monday Night Wars. An undefeated streak made him the most popular man in WCW. Goldberg defeated Hulk Hogan less than a year into his debut to win the WCW Championship. No one expected it to happen this soon, but the fan base badly wanted it.

Goldberg may not have been a good wrestler, but the presentation of him may have been WCW’s greatest feat. This picture shows his intense entrance as he walked through the pyro on his way to the ring. Goldberg was the last hope for WCW and clearly gave them some extra time before they eventually went out of business. This epic image is the one that best sums up his career as the intense ass kicker that destroyed the competition.